The hydroxylated vitamin D.sub.3 derivatives, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxycholesterol can be prepared from 25-hydroxycholesterol and 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxycholesterol. The synthesis of these hydroxylated cholesterols from the hog bile constituent, hyodeoxycholic acid, has been described by me in applications, Ser. No. 816,478, 829,009, 876,753 and 929,932. In the applications serial numbers 816,478, 829,009 and 929,932 I describe the synthesis of 25-hydroxycholesterol from hyodeoxycholic acid esters, and in application serial number 876,753 I describe the synthesis of a 25-hydroxylated cholestane derivative, 25-hydroxy-5.beta.-cholestan-3,6-dione, from hyodeoxycholic acid esters. This compound is an intermediate in the synthesis of 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxycholesterol, as shown by T. A. Narwid, J. F. Blount, J. A. Iacobelli and M. R. Uskokovic, Helv. Chim. Acta, 57, 781 (1974).
An object of the present invention is to seek new processes and steroids which can serve as intermediates in the synthesis of 25-hydroxycholesterol and 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxycholesterol. Such new intermediates and processes increase the options for synthesis and constitute improvements in the production of hydroxylated cholesterols.